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    Outfit, Travel

    Soaking Up The California Sun

    July 14, 2014
    Photos by Laura Nolan
    Outfit:
    Crocheted Vest (Handmade by my Grandmother)
    Forever 21 Cropped Top in Polka Dot Print (Similar)
    Topshop High-Waisted Bikini Pants
    Linen Skirt (Handmade by my Mom)
    Dolce Vita Zen Flat Sandal (Available in Black)
    Crocheted Bag with Bottle Caps (Also handmade by my Grandmother) 

    This weekend I drove down to Dana Point and San Juan Capistrano to hang out with my best friend Laura. As you may already know from some of my previous posts, Laura and I live two hours apart, and Orange County is our halfway meeting point. Since Laura will soon be moving to China for a year, lately we’ve been making a serious effort to see each other more often.
    Since neither of us had ever been, Laura and I decided to visit the San Juan Capistrano Mission while we were in the area. The mission is a place that is very rich in history, and it was wonderful to spend part of our day touring the monument and learning about the people who first lived there when it was built. It was such a beautiful and serene place to visit, and it reminded me of why I love living in California.

    As you may have already noticed, many of the items that I wore this weekend were handmade by my Mom and Abuela/Grandmother. I love receiving gifts that are handmade, because I feel like they are much more unique and personal. This vest and handbag are two of my most favorite items because they were made by my grandmother. They are particularly special to me because my grandmother has C.R.E.S.T., a disease that makes it hard for her to use her hands–it’s so astonishing to me that, despite of her disability, she puts in the time and effort to crochet items like these and is also able to achieve such intricate detail.

     

    As usual, I was in charge of taking Laura’s yoga photos, and I snapped a couple of outfit photos as well. I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again–I can only wish to be as strong and graceful as Laura is one day. She always carries herself with such poise, and her photos look like they belong in an Anthropologie catalogue.
    Before going down to the mission, Laura and I spent a couple of hours lounging and soaking in the sun at the beach. I’ve been making an effort to go to the beach more often this Summer, since I feel like I need to start taking more advantage of one of the most wonderful activities that California has to offer. I’ve also invested in a swimsuit for the first time in years, so I no longer have that as an excuse to not make my way down to the beach. While I’m on the topic of swimwear, I have to say that I’m so glad that high-waisted swimsuit bottoms are back in style; I feel like they make it easier for girls like me, who don’t like showing too much skin, to go out and have fun in the sun.

     

    I feel like I’ve been going at full-speed this Summer. There isn’t a weekend that goes by where I don’t have anything to do. I’ve been having so much fun, but I do feel the need to slow down and spend a weekend just focusing on myself. I think that it’s always important to set apart time to focus on self-care and recharge. Doing that definitely gives you energy to get back out there and take over the world.
    How are you enjoying your Summer? Do you have any goals or activities you would like to accomplish before it ends?
    xoxo,
    Helen Grace
    ——
    Follow my adventures in real time on Instagram
    Outfit, Travel

    Cathedral Park

    July 2, 2014
    Photos by Laura Nolan
    Outfit:
    Free People Top
    H&M Trouser Shorts
    Target Tights in Black
    Madewell Stacked-Heel Loafers in High Shine
    Madwell Bag
    In my Portland Photo Diary, I had mentioned how much I loved spending time in Portland’s beautiful parks; that is probably why I ended up taking all of my outfit photos at the parks that I visited during my trip. These photos were taken by my best friend Laura at Cathedral Park, which is located beneath the beautiful St. Johns Bridge on the east shore of the Willamette River. Since I was looking to relax and spend more time outdoors during my trip, I really liked that Cathedral Park was so close to the river and that there was so much open green space all around. However, it’s the bridge’s beautiful arches that give the park so much character and make it truly breathtaking. Laura took my photos on a stage at one end of the park where, as you can see, the view of the arches was simply amazing.

    I had to make the last photo of this post a silly one! When Laura sent me the photos that she took of me, I couldn’t stop laughing at some of them because I came out making the funniest faces and poses. All my Portland friends were standing around looking at me as Laura was taking pictures and, since I’m not used to having an audience, I started to feel extremely self-conscious and doing silly poses. It’s truly thanks to Laura’s awesome photography skills that I even managed to look decent in some of these photos.

    While I’m on the topic of taking silly photos, I have to say that working on this blog has served as an opportunity for me to practice self-confidence and self-love, and to learn to not take myself too seriously. I used to hate how I looked in pictures to the point that I would avoid taking any at all, and would dispose of any that I didn’t like. It kind of makes me sad that I’ve missed out on documenting so many memories because of such a silly insecurity. As funny as I look in that last photo–and trust me when I say that it’s not even the most laughable picture of the set that Laura sent me– it does make for great comic relief and it really portrays the fun mood that I was in at the moment.

    I’m really sad that this is my last set of photos from Portland. I’m so glad that I was able to have such a fun vacation, and I hope to make a trip down there again soon. Are there any fun places that you have visited or are planning to visit in the near future?

    xoxo,
    Helen Grace
    Travel

    Portland, Oregon

    June 26, 2014
    I’m excited to finally share some snapshots from my trip to Portland with all of you. This is my second time visiting this wonderful city, and I feel like I’ve fallen even more in love with it. I had such a great experience on my trip that I even got a bit teary-eyed at the airport upon realizing that I was about to leave the city and my friends. You can definitely say that reentering the work life has been quite challenging for me.
    I have to say that it was really hard not to post every single picture that I had since I have so many great memories from this past weekend. The funny thing is that I wouldn’t have been able to compile these photos without the help of my bestie Laura. I unfortunately forgot my DSLR at home and, therefore, I had to resort to taking pictures with my iPhone. Laura was kind enough to send me some of the pictures that she took with her camera.
    One thing that I really enjoyed about Portland is how many beautiful parks there are and how close you are to nature. Working at a desk job, I constantly spend most of my time sitting in front of a computer; I do the same when I get home. Over the weekend, my friends and I visited both Laurelhurst Park and Cathedral City Park, and I realized how nice it was to step away from a computer screen and spend time outdoors hanging out with my friends. It was also nice to see so many people outside with their families and friends, interacting as a community. Living in Los Angeles, it seems like everybody is always in their car and in a hurry to get somewhere. Therefore, it was a nice change to see people making an effort to interact with each other.
    During my trip, my friends Kelsey, Laura, Candace, Linda and I went berry picking at Columbia Farms U-Pick and had a blast! They currently have raspberries and blueberries in season, and we stocked up on both. I definitely want to do some sort of similar activity at home, since it’s so much fun and more affordable than buying berries at the supermarket.
    My favorite part about Portland has to be the food and coffee culture. If you know me well enough, you probably already know that I’m constantly hungry and that most of my social life revolves around eating food and drinking coffee. I really enjoyed eating at the many street food vendors around the city. However, my favorite food experience had to be the Portland State University Farmer’s Market. They have so many cool food vendors and live music, and it’s a very lively place to spend the weekend.
    As I mentioned before, I love drinking coffee. My friend Candace, whom I visited, and I actually developed a strong friendship because of our love of exploring new coffee shops. My first coffee stop was Heart Coffee Roasters, where I met my friend Candace after I arrived in Portland. I of course loved the coffee and the minimalistic style of the shop, and I have to say that Heart Coffee Roasters was my favorite coffee shop; I’m such a creature of habit that I visited more than once while I was in town. During my weekend coffee crawl, I also visited Stumptown Coffee Roasters at the Ace Hotel, and The Fresh Pot Coffee which also brewed Stumptown. I also really enjoyed getting coffee at Pearl Bakery because they had amazing pastries!
    There were many things about my trip to Portland that made me rethink about where I’m heading in life. My vacation made me realize that I hadn’t been feeling very at ease in a while, and that I need to make it one of my goals to be in an environment or place that makes me feel comfortable and happy. I feel like lately my sole focus in life has been my career. While thinking about my career path, I’ve also been very adamant about leaving Los Angeles. The short time that I spent in Portland made me realize that maybe I could use a change of scenery for a while, and that I can be happy living somewhere else than where I currently am. With that in mind, we’ll see where life takes me.
    xoxo,
    Helen Grace